7.3-magnitude earthquake jolts region on Iran-Iraq border

Survivors sit in front of a destroyed house on the earthquake site in Sarpol-e-Zahab in western Iran, Nov. 14, 2017. Rescuers are digging through the debris of buildings felled by the Sunday earthquake in the border region of Iran and Iraq. (Photo: Vahid Salemi/AP)

7.3-magnitude earthquake jolts region on Iran-Iraq border

Tens of thousands of Iranians spent a second night in the open after a 7.3-magnitude quake struck near the border with Iraq, killing more than 400 people.

Residents who had fled their homes when Sunday’s quake rocked the mountainous region spanning Iran’s western province of Kermanshah and neighboring Iraqi Kurdistan braved chilly temperatures as authorities struggled to get aid into the quake zone.

The toll in Iran stood at 413 dead and 6,700 injured, while across the border in more sparsely populated areas of Iraq, the health ministry said eight people had died and several hundred were injured. Iraq’s Red Crescent put the toll at nine dead.

Officials said they were setting up relief camps for the displaced and that 22,000 tents, 52,000 blankets and tonnes of food and water had been distributed. The official IRNA news agency said 30 Red Crescent teams had been sent to the area. (AFP)